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Getting to the Next Grade

The Chicago Public Schools elementary and high school promotion policy documents include a variety of measures to ensure that all students are prepared for the grade to which they are promoted.

Elementary School Promotion Policy

The School/Parent Guide to the Elementary Promotion Policy is an at-a-glance summary of the Elementary Promotion Policy for the 2015-2016
school year. The guide assists schools and parents in determining the promotion status of students in benchmark grades 3, 6, and 8 and the requirements associated with each promotion status.

CPS urges parents to closely monitor their child's academic progress to ensure he or she stays on track throughout the school year. Parents can assist their child in meeting the promotion criteria by reviewing homework assignments with him or her, requesting to see quizzes and tests, and maintaining communication with their child's school and teacher with regards to his or her academic progress.

Students who do not satisfy the promotion criteria above will be required to attend and satisfactorily complete Summer School in order to attain promotion to the next grade.

The School/Parent Guide to the Elementary School Promotion Policy for grades 3, 6 & 8 is available in the following languages:

High School Promotion Policy

Chicago Public Schools requires high school students to successfully complete a minimum number of credits before they can be promoted to the next grade level and graduate. Listed below are the CPS high school and graduation requirements.

9th grade promotion
To be promoted from 9th to 10th grade, students must pass at least three of their core subject courses during both semesters and must have successfully completed a minimum of 5 units of credit.

10th grade promotion
To be promoted from 10th to 11th grade, students must pass at least three of their core subject courses during both semesters and must have successfully completed a minimum of 11 units of credit. All 10th grade students must have completed at least 20 hours of community service learning in order to be promoted to the 11th grade.

11th grade promotion
To be promoted from 11th to 12th grade, students must have successfully completed a minimum of 17 units of credit.

Graduation
To graduate, students must complete a minimum of 24 units of credit and 40 hours of community service learning.

Students with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) and students with disabilities
LEP students meet all graduation requirements with needed accommodations such as placement in English/ESL and home language support in other subject areas, as appropriate. Students with disabilities meet the general graduation requirements with appropriate accommodations and curricular modifications as determined by their Individual Education Programs (IEPs); students whose IEPs indicate an alternative mastery process receive a document of graduation.

High School Graduation Requirements

The Minimum High School Graduation Requirement Policy (Board Report 06-0628-PO2) requires students to complete a minimum total of 24 credits in specific content areas in order to meet graduation requirements. Overall requirements can vary depending on the type of school and/or program (i.e. some schools may require additional courses in math, science, world language, etc.).

The document entitled High School Graduation Requirements serves as a guide for ensuring completion of all required hours for promotion from year to year, by identifying specific course requirements, as well as the number of credits required for ultimately earning graduation status. Adherence to the High School Graduation Requirements will ensure that each student remains on track and on pace for high school graduation.

The High School Graduation Requirements flyer is available in the following languages:

The Chicago Board of Education amended the Chicago Public Schools’ Minimum High School Graduation Requirements Policy (605.3) at the Wednesday, February 24, 2016 Board Meeting, beginning with the Freshman class in School Year (SY) 2016-2017, to include the following subject/curriculum areas:

Please refer to the following FAQs for further information regarding these changes.

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Chicago Public Schools is the third largest school district in the United States with more than 600 schools providing education to approximately 400,000 children. Our vision is that every student in every neighborhood will be engaged in a rigorous, well-rounded instructional program and will graduate prepared for success in college, career and life.